The present invention relates generally to the field of dentistry, and in particular, to a new and useful universal implant arrangement including a tapered and threaded anchor for implantation into the jaw bone of a mammal, means for rotating the anchor for seating it in the jaw bone, and means for mounting a replacement tooth or teeth to the anchor.
For the purpose of this disclosure and the claims forming a part thereof, relative terms and terms having functionally opposite but equivalent meanings such as, but not limited to, up, down, left, right, upwardly, downwardly, male and female, are used to include their opposite meaning. For, example, when referring to an implant anchor having a lower body portion with an upwardly facing opening, this is meant to also include an implant anchor having an upper body portion with a downwardly facing opening.
A wide variety of dental implant structures and systems is known.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,960,381 to Niznick, for example, discloses a screw-type dental implant anchor with an externally-threaded body portion joined to a top portion having an unthreaded exterior wall, and an internal, wrench-engaging surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,411,624 to Ogino, et al. discloses a dental implant with a dental root part having a substantial portion of the dental root surface to be placed in contact with the jaw bone, formed of a biologically active glass or glass-ceramic material that is contoured to have a selected taper.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,758,160 to Ismail discloses a dental implant having an alveolar surface and a hollow core therein, a prosthetic head having a shaft thereon, and a prosthesis. The shaft has a particular structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,863,383 to Grafelmann teaches a self-tapping screw implant.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,570 to Zuest, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,651,675 to Singer, U.S. Pat. No. 6,050,819 to Robinson and U.S. Pat. No. 6,126,662 to Carmichael et al., all disclose the use of the so called Morse taper in a dental implant.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,437,551 to Chalifoux teaches a dental system for insertion into a bore of a jaw bone of a patient which comprises an implant having a central bore extending from a top surface through a portion of the vertical height of the implant, one first extension extending from and directly attached to a first wall of the central bore, a dental post having a stem section shaped to fit into the central bore and having a second wall with at least one second extension attached directly to the post and positioned to frictionally fit with the first extension to retain the post within the central bore.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,199,873 discloses an implant with a stepped and threaded body for extending into the jaw bone.
Despite the effort of many practitioners in this field, a need remains for an effective universal dental implant arrangement.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a universal implant arrangement which includes an implant anchor, a platform or body that can be used, for example, for rotating the anchor to fix it in a jaw bone hole (and acts as an attachment surface for an external attachment abutment), and an abutment for mounting at least one tooth replacement, such as a crown or cap, to the anchor.
One of the main objects of the present invention is to provide a truly universal implant including both internal attachment and external attachment possibilities. This is achieved by utilizing an anchor having an internal void (also referred to here as a abutment receiving bore) adapted for internal attachment-type abutments, along with a (an attached) platform that can be used for various purposes. The universality of the implant is in providing the alternative of leaving the platform in place, causing the implant to function as an external attachment implant, or removing the platform and thereby converting the implant into an internal attachment implant. The platform can support an external attachment abutment or be remove so that the implant can accommodate an internal attachment abutment. For the purpose this disclosure the term xe2x80x9cabutmentxe2x80x9d can mean any one or more of a wide variety of dental superstructures, such as a crown, a clip bar or spark erosion bar (that can be attached to more than one implant), a stud or post for helping support an over-denture, or the like. The external abutment can be attached to the platform, the platform thus providing any foundation needed for connecting the external abutment to the anchor.
Accordingly, another object of the invention is to provide a dental implant arrangement for attaching a replacement tooth to the jaw bone of a mammal, which has an anchor for implantation into the jaw bone. The anchor has a lower outer tapered surface and a thread in a preferred embodiment, although anchors without a thread and even without a tapered surface, may also be used. The anchor also has an upper portion with an upper surface and an abutment receiving bore extending into the anchor. A platform is attached to the upper surface of the anchor also for rotating the anchor in the jaw bone, when rotation is needed to install the anchor. A non-circular projection projects from and is part of the top of the platform. This can be used for engagement by a wrench for rotating the platform. Orientation structures such as co-rotation keys and/or a Morse taper, can also transmit rotation of the platform to the anchor. The orientation structures can also be used to orient an abutment to the correct rotational position with respect to the anchor. The abutment for supporting the tooth replacement may have a foundation extending into and fixed to the abutment receiving bore in the anchor when the tooth replacement is to be supported on the anchor as an internal attachment. Platform 24 may serve as a permanent part of the implant arrangement in that it forms the attachment location for the crown, or for hardware that supports the crown. The platform also serves as part of the installation process, for example, to rotate a threaded anchor into the jaw bone, and ultimately may be removed and replaced with an internal attachment abutment or other internal attachment structures.